mixedmartialartsfandomcom-20200214-history
Daniel Cormier
Daniel Cormier is a African-American Mixed martial artist and a former Olympic wrestler. Cormier won the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix in 2011. He has fought for Strikeforce, King of the Cage and currently the UFC. Cormier holds notable wins over Antonio Silva, Josh Barnett, Frank Mir, Roy Nelson and Jeff Monson. Cormier is currently ranked as the #5 Light Heavyweight in the world on UFC.com. Biography Cormier is the son of Joseph and Audrey Cormier. He has an older brother named Joseph, a sister named Felicia and a younger brother named Ferral. When Cormier was seven, his father was shot and killed on Thanksgiving Day in 1986 by the father of his second wife. Cormier was a three-time Louisiana wrestling state champion in high school and high school All-American. In high school, Northside High School, he suffered only two losses after his freshman year, both coming in injury defaults. He had a 101–9 record during his high school career and was also an All-State performer in football. After high school he attended Colby Community College where he was a two-time junior college national champion. After Colby he transferred to wrestling powerhouse Oklahoma State University where he was an NCAA runner-up, losing to Cael Sanderson in the finals. After graduating from Oklahoma State with a degree in sociology, Daniel went on to compete on five United States world wrestling teams and the 2004 Olympic wrestling team, where he took 4th place after losing to Khadjimourat Gatsalov in the semi-finals. Daniel was also a member of the 2008 Olympic wrestling team for the USA, where he was named team captain, but did not compete due to kidney failure. Daniel also competed and represented the Oklahoma Slam team in the now defunct Real Pro Wrestling league and was crowned a champion in the first and only season in the 211 lb weight class. While he competed in Real Pro Wrestling, he was also teammates with fellow Strikeforce mixed martial arts competitor Muhammed Lawal, who also was a season 1 champion, in the 184 lb weight class. Mixed Martial Arts Cormier decided to pursue a career in mixed martial arts, in the Heavyweight division. He trained with Cain Velasquez, Jon Fitch, and Josh Koscheck at American Kickboxing Academy. After making his professional debut, Cormier traveled to Australia and fought for Xtreme MMA. He defeated Lucas Browne to win the XMMA Heavyweight Championship on July 31. Two weeks later he made his first title defense of his career in August 13, against Soa Palelei. He won via submission to punches in the first round, but broke his hand during the fight. Cormier won his second MMA title by winning the KOTC Heavyweight Championship on November 2009 from Tony Johnson. He landed a solid punch on Johnson in the first round, causing his larger opponent to shoot in, but Cormier quickly gained the advantage with superior wrestling and grappling and won the fight via Rear Naked Choke. Strikeforce Cormier signed an eight-fight deal with the Strikeforce organization and debut at Strikeforce Challengers: Kennedy vs. Cummings, defeating Gary Frazier by TKO. Cormier fought at the event Strikeforce Challengers: Johnson vs. Mahe on March 26, 2010, in Fresno, California against John Devine, Cormier defeating Devine by KO. Shortly thereafter, Cormier fought on the Strikeforce: Houston event on August 21, 2010. He defeated Jason Riley via submission (punches) with 1:02 into the fight. Cormier then faced Devin Cole at Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs. Saffiedine on January 7, 2011. He won the bout via unanimous decision. He was then set to face Shane Del Rosario at Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum, but his opponent was involved in a car accident and pulled out of the fight. Del Rosario was replaced by Jeff Monson. Cormier defeated Monson via unanimous decision. Daniel Cormier replaced injured Alistair Overeem to fight Antonio Silva on September 10, 2011, in the semi-finals of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. Cormier showed how far he has come along in his striking ability, using his speed to outbox and rock Silva on the feet. Cormier knocked out "Bigfoot" with an uppercut, followed by hammerfists to secure the victory at 3:56 in round one. In the finals, Cormier faced former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett. Over the course of five rounds, Cormier dominated Barnett with takedowns and superior striking. Cormier won via unanimous decision and captured the title. Cormier broke his hand in the fight and had to undergo surgery. Daniel Cormier was rumored to face former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia in his return to Zuffa and Strikeforce debut, but on July 21, UFC President Dana White said "no Tim Sylvia is not with Zuffa". Cormier was scheduled to fight former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir on November 3, 2012, at Strikeforce: Cormier vs. Mir. However on September 19 it was revealed that Mir was forced to pull out of the bout due to an injury. On January 12, 2013, Cormier faced Dion Staring on Strikeforce's last card. He won the fight via TKO in round two. Ultimate Fighting Championship Cormier made his promotional debut against Frank Mir on April 20, 2013 at UFC on Fox 7. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Due to Cain Velasquez, Cormier's teammate, being the current UFC Heavyweight Champion, Cormier considered moving down to the UFC's Light Heavyweight division. Some writers expressed doubt in his ability to cut down to the 205 limit safely, citing Cormier suffering kidney failure during his time as an Olympic wrestler, trying to make 211 lbs. Cormier then fought The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights winner Roy Nelson at UFC 166. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Prior to the bout, he announced that win or lose, he would be moving down to the Light Heavyweight division. Cormier weighed in for the bout over 20 pounds lighter than previous contests, at 224 pounds. Daniel Cormier was set to fight Rashad Evans at UFC 170 on February 22, 2014. However, Rashad pulled out of the fight due to an knee injury sustained in training. Cormier was removed from the card, but he was quickly put back on the card and now faces UFC newcomer Patrick Cummins. Cormier was put back on the card and was paired up with UFC newcomer, Patrick Cummins. Cormier went on to defeat Cummins via first round TKO. Cormier was briefly linked to a bout with Rafael Cavalcante on July 5, 2014 at UFC 175. However, it was announced that Cormier would instead be fighting Dan Henderson on May 24, 2014 at UFC 173. Personal life Cormier and his girlfriend at OSU had one daughter who died in a car accident on June 14, 2003. He was also previously married to a woman named Robin. On February 16, 2011, he and his girlfriend Salina had a son. On March 4, 2012, Cormier and his girlfriend had a daughter. Championships and accomplishments Mixed martial arts *'Strikeforce' **Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion *'King of the Cage' **KOTC Heavyweight Championship (One time) *'Xtreme MMA' **XMMA Heavyweight Championship (One time) **One successful title defense *'ESPN' **Upset of the Month (2011) vs. Antonio Silva on September 10 Amateur wrestling *'International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles' **2008 USA Senior Freestyle Olympic Team Captain **2007 FILA Wrestling World Championships Senior Freestyle Bronze Medalist **2007 Pan American Games Senior Freestyle Bronze Medalist **2007 Dave Schultz Memorial International Open Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist **2005 Super Cup Senior Freestyle Silver Medalist **2005 World Cup Senior Freestyle Silver Medalist **2005 Ivan Yarygin Memorial Tournament Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist **2004 Boutiatyr Grand Prix Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist **2003 FILA Absolute Championship Senior Freestyle Bronze Medalist **2003 Ivan Yarygin Cup Senior Freestyle Bronze Medalist **2003 Pan American Games Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist **2002 Medved International Championships Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist **2002 Sunkist Kids/ASU International Open Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist **2002 Pan American Championships Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist **2002 Dave Schultz Memorial International Open Senior Freestyle Bronze Medalist **2001 Sunkist Kids International Open Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist **2001 Dave Schultz Memorial International Open Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist **1995 FILA Wrestling World Championships Cadet Greco-Roman Bronze Medalist *'USA Wrestling' **USA Senior Freestyle Olympic Team Trials Winner (2004, 2008) **FILA Senior Freestyle World Team Trials Winner (2005, 2006, 2007) **FILA Senior Freestyle World Team Trials Runner-up (2001, 2002) **USA Senior Freestyle National Championship (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008) **Northwest Senior Freestyle Regional Championship (2008) **John Smith Freestyle Wrestler of the Year Award (2007) **ASICS Tiger High School All-American (1996, 1997) Collegiate wrestling *'National Collegiate Athletic Association' **NCAA Division I Collegiate National Championship Runner-up (2001) **NCAA Division I All-American (2001) **Big 12 Conference Championship Runner-up (2000, 2001) *'National Junior College Athletic Association' **NJCAA Wrestling Hall of Fame Inductee (2009) **NJCAA Collegiate National Championship (1998, 1999) **NJCAA All-American (1998, 1999) *'National High School Coaches Association' **NHSCA Senior High School National Championship 3rd Place (1997) **NHSCA Senior All-American (1997) *'Louisiana High School Athletic Association' **LHSAA Division I High School State Championship (1995, 1996, 1997) **LHSAA Division I All-State (1995, 1996, 1997) Mixed martial arts record References External links * *UFC Profile *Twitter Page Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:American mixed martial artists Category:American sport wrestlers Category:Heavyweight mixed martial artists Category:Mixed martial artists from Louisiana Category:Olympic wrestlers of the United States